ossature means A skeletal framework; an underlying structure. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 89 out of 100.
Why this word is great
OSSATURE — [Noun] A skeletal framework or underlying structure, as of a building, a body of thought, or a system. From the French ossature, from the Latin os ("bone") and the French noun suffix -ature, modeled on words like musculature. Unlike "framework" (a general, neutrally connotative term) or "infrastructure" (which denotes sprawling, functional systems), "ossature" evokes the essential, bony anatomy hidden within the flesh of an object or idea. It is the steel girders of a half-finished skyscraper, the wire armature of a clay sculpture, or the stark logical proposition upon which an entire philosophy precariously rests—the austere and necessary truth that remains when all ornament is stripped away.
noun
- A skeletal framework; an underlying structure.
- Any supporting framework under a vault, roof etc.